James Cameron‘s 2019 cult movie adapting a popular manga series has been revived on streaming, the film becoming a global success. Cameron has had a hand in numerous movies across various genres, with a particular slant toward sci-fi action over the last two decades. His upcoming Avatar: Fire and Ash is one such endeavor, but not his only recent one.
Alongside director Robert Rodriguez, Cameron co-wrote and co-produced 2019’s Alita: Battle Angel, a film adaptation of the manga series Battle Angel Alita by Yukito Kishiro. The movie takes place centuries into the future, where scientist Dr. Ido (Christoph Waltz) revives amnesiac cyborg Alita (Rosa Salazar), who is hunted in Iron City as she tries to uncover her past.
Now, FlixPatrol reports that, following Alita: Battle Angel‘s theatrical success in 2019, the movie has seen revived interest on streaming. The film sits at Number 6 worldwide on HBO Max as of December 4, 2025. This includes Number 1 spots in eight countries, those being Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia.
Although Alita: Battle Angel reviews were mixed, the film scoring a 61% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s grown a cult following over the years. It also managed to earn a fair amount at the box office, garnering $405 million worldwide against an estimated $150-200 million budget. This led to Alita: Battle Angel 2 being announced, though the sequel remains in development.
Salazar has recently expressed interest in continuing her role as Alita for the sequel, even writing a treatment for a sequel due to her passion for the role and the original manga. However, it’s unclear when it will happen: Cameron still hasn’t filmed the final two Avatar sequels, while it’s unclear if Rodriguez will be prioritizing it soon.
However, its sudden surge of streaming success is an indicator of how much attention it’s still getting, six years after its theatrical release. This includes internationally, where it’s currently enjoying the most revitalization. Even though there’s no word yet on when the sequel will happen and how it will play out, there’s still plenty invested in its universe.
For now, it seems like Alita: Battle Angel will remain in the public consciousness, though with no concrete determination surrounding when its story will continue. Even so, the popularity of the original, enough to warrant revived interest on streaming, means there’s plenty who see the vision of Cameron and Rodriguez’s story, and who are interested in its universe.
- Release Date
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February 14, 2019
- Runtime
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122 minutes
- Director
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Robert Rodriguez
